No Park, No Water, No Life

The people and businesses of Selangor, KL and Putrajaya depend on Taman Negeri Selangor for our most basic needs of clean air, water and local climate stability.  The Park helps to maintain the quality of life we all enjoy, particularly the water we need and use everyday.

The forests of the Park are catchment for the upper reaches of the major rivers in Selangor (Sg. Bernam, Sg. Selangor, Sg. Klang and Sg. Langat).  These river basins cover almost the entire state of Selangor.  The Park is the origin of many smaller streams that merge to form larger rivers, including Sg. Kerling, Sg. Batang Klang, and Sg. Semenyih, that feed these major rivers.

The Park area also feeds the 5 reservoirs that provide 98% of the water supply to Selangor, KL and Putrajaya.  That is why we say "No Park, No Water, No Life" !   These 5 reservoirs are:
Sg. Selangor Dam in the Sg. Selangor river basin,
Batu and Klang Gates Dams in the Sg. Klang river basin,
Langat and Semenyih Dams in the Sg. Langat river basin.

Recognising the importance of these forests as water catchment, the Forestry Department has double gazetted these areas also as 'catchment forest' under the National Forestry Act Enactment 2005 of Selangor, in addition to being gazetted as 'state park' under the same act.

While the state of Selangor is protecting the forests, the benefit is felt by the people and businesses in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya as well.  For example, the Klang Gates reservoir, with its pristine forest, supplies clean water to the downtown KL, the 'Golden Triangle', the commercial hub of the city.   Sadly, the forests that act as the catchment for the Klang Gates reservoir are threatened by the proposed KL Outer Ring Road.

Given the recent debate over whether Selangor will have enough water to supply the growing needs of residents and industries in the state, KL and Putrajaya, it would seem critical to strictly protect the Park given its vital importance in protecting the existing water supply of the nation's most prosperous region.

Residents Speak Up for the Park

This past Thursday, 21 October, over 200 residents, concerned youth and reps from NGOs attended the public hearing to voice their concerns about the plans in the Draft Local Plan for Ampang Jaya - not a bad turnout for a working day!

All of the residents and NGOs expressed their intense objections to the KL Outer Ring Road cutting through  Taman Negeri Selangor and the increasing development pressures on the Park, particularly the Klang Gates Quartz Ridge.

Some of those who attended pose for a photo
with posters objecting to the KLORR

There were a number of other proposals that the residents and NGOs strongly objected to including:

• a proposed incinerator
• TNB high tension wires planned along a steep hill and near housing in Tmn Bkt Segar Jaya area
• continued development plans on the steep, sensitive slopes of the entire Ampang area
• the intensity of new housing and other developments that are destroying the greenery and overall quality of life throughout the areas of Ampang
• the increasing human-wildlife "conflicts" due to the lack of green space and conversion of green spaces to development, leaving no room for the wildlife
• increasing developments along river reserves
• the extremely small amount of green-recreational space (less than 5%) throughout the Ampang area

Chairman of the hearing En. Iskandar Abdul Samad (State Exco) said that the objections would be discussed at the State Planning Committee in December.

Many thanks must be given to the residents, young people and NGO groups that took the time to attend the hearing and speak up for the Park, the environment and our overall quality of life.  Many thanks must also be given to everyone who wrote in objections earlier this year, again, calling for the better protection of the Selangor State Park and the environment in general.  Thanks must also be given to the government for hearing us.  Now we must see if they ACT on our concerns.  

Read more about what happened during the hearing on  Malaysiakini's Komunitikini  and The Star Metro

Taman Negeri Selangor Needs YOU to Take Action!

Taman Negeri Selangor needs YOU to take action!  A public hearing will be held on 21 October relating to the Ampang Jaya Draft Structure Plans that came out at the end of 2009. 

In the Draft Plan, the alignment of the KL Outer Ring Road was shown to cut through the centre of the Klang Gates Quartz Ridge, and bisect the length of the Ampang Forest Reserve - both of which are critical habitats of the Park.   For more details click here

Putting a major highway through the middle of environmentally sensitive areas, critical to water supply and recently gazetted as a 'state park' seems to be an extreme contradiction in planning.

This is your chance to speak up for the Park.  Details of the hearing are as follows:

Thursday, 21 October 2010
9 - 11.30 am (session 1)
Auditorium, 5th Floor, Menara MPAJ
MPAJ

The reply form is below, IF you wish to fax to MPAJ your attendance.  Let's all speak up to keep this important forest intact - for the security of our quality of life.